Physician of the Song Dynasty: Zhang Kai and Li Qingzhao have a private life-long contract

"Choose a general and control the five armies!"

All the officials in the court were shocked and looked at Fan Zheng in disbelief.

You must know that the Song Dynasty promoted the use of civility to control military affairs, not just to guard against military commanders, but whoever controlled the military forces was under the court's guard.

At that time, Zhao Kuangyin was in charge of the military power alone and launched the Chenqiao Mutiny, which established the Song Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin started his career like this, so naturally he was very wary of those who held military power. Even if this person was a civil servant who was loyal to the country, it was not that he did not distrust his character. , but because of its ability to rebel.

It was under this thought that even the front line against Xixia in the northwest was divided into five lines by the imperial court, and the chief generals appointed were all civilian officials. The purpose was to control each other and completely cut off their ability to rebel.

Now Fan Zheng proposed that a general should directly command the five-pronged army. It was an army of nearly 200,000, and it was the most elite and capable army in the Song Dynasty. This directly offended the most sensitive nerves of the Song Dynasty court.

"Fan Zheng, using culture to control military force is the rule of the Song Dynasty. The five-way division of troops is the invincible magic weapon of Taizu Taizong of the Song Dynasty. How can I allow you to change it at your request!" Lu Dafang said angrily.

All the officials in the court also frowned and looked at Fan Zheng. The reform and military strategy was different from the reform of young crops or the method of protecting horses. This violated the bottom line of the Zhao and Song royal family, and even more so the court.

Fan Zheng showed no fear, and argued with reason: "Dividing the troops into five groups can indeed prevent the concentration of military power, but it greatly weakens the military force of the Song Dynasty. It is flexible to stretch out the five fingers, but it is more powerful when clenched into a fist. Now We, the Song Dynasty, are faced with the combined troops of Liao and Xia, so we must strike hard and defeat Xixia quickly to break the situation!"

After Fan Zheng finished speaking, he clenched his fist and swung it hard.

All the officials in the court were silent. They naturally knew that the strongest force would be achieved by joining together. However, they knew exactly how the Zhao family came to the throne in the first place. For the royal family, their own throne was naturally more important.

"Fan is a doctor and can only find out the cause of the disease. Please forgive Fan for speaking bluntly. One of the causes of the Song Dynasty's repeated defeats and wars was the strategy of dividing the troops. The disastrous defeat of His Majesty Shenzong's five-pronged attack on Xia is still before our eyes. What happened in the past An army that does not forget the aftermath, now that Xixia is attacking in a large scale, should we divide our troops? If we miss the opportunity and lead to a joint attack from Liao and Xia, the Song Dynasty will be in danger." Fan Zheng said.

Zhao Xu's face suddenly darkened.

"Don't talk about the current battle. In the future, the imperial court will implement the great detour strategy to destroy the Xixia and Liao Kingdoms and unify the world. Will the imperial court have to divide its forces into five groups?" Fan Zheng's series of rhetorical questions suddenly surprised Zhao Xu.

He knew that he had to make a choice, whether to abide by the teachings of his ancestors and continue to divide his troops, or to change the military strategy and combine the troops to strengthen the Song Dynasty's military force, but increase the risks to the Song Dynasty royal family.

Fan Zheng continued to persuade: "To inform the officials, the royal ancestral precepts certainly have some truth. However, now that the military supervision system of the Song Dynasty is being improved, martial arts has been initially implemented, and gunpowder weapons are showing great power in the army, the officials only Controlling these three points is enough to prevent military generals from rebelling, and it is time for the royal family’s ancestral precepts to change.”

Fan Zheng is not a fool. He understands that if he had previously proposed to unify the five armies of the Song Dynasty, it would definitely arouse opposition from the government and the public. However, now that the military supervision system of the Song Dynasty is being implemented in the army, the martial arts that integrates civil and military forces has been implemented. In the second period, not to mention gunpowder weapons are even more powerful defensive weapons, but they have a major drawback, that is, they cannot be reused. The gunpowder weapons in the world are controlled by the firearms supervisor in Kaifeng City. Even if there is a general rebellion, there is no gunpowder weapon. , and could not threaten the Song Dynasty.

"What do you think, dear friends?" Zhao Xu looked around at the ministers and asked solemnly.

"The Song Dynasty has implemented the integration of civil and military forces, and the weapons supervisor controls the world's firearms. If it is just to unify the military forces during war, I think we can give it a try." Su Song was the first to support.

Zhang Dun thought for a while and said: "Liao and Xia jointly sent troops. This battle is related to the fate of the Song Dynasty. I believe that we should go all out to win this battle!"

Zhang Dun has always advocated tough foreign policy, and the lion of Liaoxia demanded that the annual coin be increased to three million guan. If he lost, the Song Dynasty would have no chance to stand up and would have to be slaughtered.

"I also agree to join forces!" Zeng Bu also agreed. He is the privy envoy. Once defeated, he will bear the brunt and be held accountable. Naturally, he will do his best to win this battle.

Lu Dafang couldn't help but sigh when he saw this, but did not object. After all, now that Liao and Xia are jointly sending troops, one accident could lead to a war of annihilation of the country. No one can bear such a huge responsibility.

"allow!"

Zhao Xu saw that the ministers had no objections and immediately agreed.

Of course, his agreement to join forces was not just the persuasion of his ministers, but his confidence as an emperor.

He has been in power for three years, and his imperial power has long been stable. Naturally, he is not comparable to the little emperors of the later Zhou Dynasty. Furthermore, as an emperor, he naturally has a more ambitious ambition, which is to unify the world.

If he doesn't even dare to temporarily hand over a soldier of the Northwest Five Routes to a general, and later destroy Xixia, destroy the Liao Kingdom, and unify the world, is it necessary to divide the troops? Not to mention that the division of troops system has been proven by successive dynasties to be the key to defeat. because.

Since the forces must be combined sooner or later, it is the most appropriate start to unite the five forces in the northwest now. If there is a problem, it may be possible to remedy it.

"The officials are wise!"

Fan Zheng saluted solemnly. He naturally knew how rare it was for Zhao Xu to be able to make this decision. This is why he fully assisted Zhao Xu. Zhao Xu could indeed be called a hero of the previous generation.

Now the Song Dynasty has begun to try to unify all the soldiers and give more trust to the generals. In the future, it may be possible to avoid the tragedy of self-destruction of the Great Wall in future generations.

"I wonder who you think is the most suitable handsome man!" Zhao Xu took a deep breath and asked solemnly.

Suddenly the officials frowned. This position was extremely sensitive, and no one dared to make the decision without authorization.

"From the perspective of the veteran, it is necessary to choose a person with high moral character and respect as the commander to ensure that nothing goes wrong." Yang Wei said.

Although the old party acquiesced in joining forces, it was still extremely wary of generals.

Fan Zheng twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "Master Yang, this is a war, not a job to hire a wife. The first thing the court wants to ensure is to win this war."

Yang Wei said angrily: "Master Fan is young and energetic, does he want to be handsome?"

Fan Zheng grinned and said: "Fan is still relatively young, so it is difficult for him to take on a big job. However, Fan has a suitable candidate. Wei Chen recommended Zhang Kai, the general manager of Jingyuan Road, to be the commander in chief."

"Zhang Qi!"

All the officials couldn't help being surprised and turned their eyes to Zhang Dun.

Zhang Kai was Zhang Dun's cousin. Fan Zheng took the initiative to recommend Zhang Kai as his commander. How could he not surprise everyone?

Fan Zheng said loudly: "In the battle of Pingxia City, Fan was the first to take advantage of the thunderous thunder. In fact, the real military merit was Master Zhang. Without the cooperation of Master Zhang, the battle of Pingxia City would not have been possible." It’s possible to achieve such a feat.”

Even Zhang Dun didn't expect Fan Zheng to admire Zhang Kai so much. He looked at Fan Zheng in disbelief and didn't understand what Fan Zheng's purpose was.

"Moreover, Lord Zhang proposed the strategy of attacking and disturbing the farming, which made Xixia exhausted and allowed the Song Dynasty to change its disadvantage in fighting Xixia. In addition, Lord Zhang is in the northwest and knows the military affairs of Xixia well, so he will definitely be able to find a good opportunity to defeat Xixia." Fan He said solemnly.

Zhao Xu discussed with officials from the Manchu Dynasty and finally agreed that Zhang Kai was indeed the most suitable candidate.